"Are you having fun?" He asked her, causing Jenna to look up into his eyes.
Jenna just looked into his eyes, remarking that even in the dark, she could see the beautiful shade of green that they were. "I'm having a great time. I don't think I've ever had so much fun. Thanks for making me come out tonight." Jenna looked away from Nick's eyes, and laid her head on his shoulder. Her heart was racing as she smelled his cologne and ran her hands up and down his nicely muscled arms. She felt like her world was spinning out of control, and at that moment, she didn't care. She picked her head off his shoulder and looked into his eyes again.
Nicholas tightened his arms around her waist and picked her up, just slightly off the ground and hugged her body to his. He nuzzled his face in her neck, just before putting her down. "You smell so good." He moaned as he looked back into her eyes.
"So do you." Jenna said breathlessly, the whole time the space between their lips lessening. Before either one knew what was happening, their lips touched in an explosive kiss.
Nicholas removed one of his hands from her waist and put it at the base of her head, on the back of her neck. He deepened the kiss, enjoying the tingling feeling in his lips, not to mention the rest of his body.
Jenna allowed Nick's tongue to enter her mouth, and massaged it with her own. Every part of her body was reveling in the joy of what was happening at her mouth.
When neither could breathe any longer, the kiss was broken. Both Nicholas and Jenna's face registered the shock of what had just happened between them, and both were panting.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Nicholas said.
"It's my fault too. I'm sorry." Jenna told him.
"This just isn't the right time. I don't want to ruin our friendship." He explained.
"I know, me either. I think we just got carried away. How about we blame it on the alcohol and forget it ever happened?" Jenna suggested.
"That sounds good." Nicholas told her but wondered if he would ever forget that marvelous kiss that awoke so many feelings in his body.
Jenna wondered the same. No man had ever made her feel like that just from a kiss before. 'But it's best for our friendship if we forget it ever happened, and I need him as a friend now more than ever.' She thought.
"Maybe we should head home, it's getting late." Jenna said.
Nicholas nodded and led her out of the club. When they got home, Nick walked her to her door to say goodnight.
"Thanks for tonight. I really did have a great time." Jenna said.
"I did too. Thanks for coming with me. Tell Emma to come home when she wakes up in the morning, ok?"
Jenna nodded. "Good night." She said, her voice a little shaky. She took her key out and unlocked the door.
"Night." Nick said and left.
Jenna paid the babysitter and locked up the house when she left. She then headed to bed, for a long night of passionate dreams.
Chapter 6 The Morning After
The next morning, Jenna woke up with a monster headache. She rolled out of bed and headed straight for the medicine cabinet in her bathroom. She shook out three pills from the bottle of Advil and threw them into her mouth. After turning on the water faucet, she scooped up a handful of water and poured it into her mouth, washing the pills down her throat.
After taking the Advil, Jenna headed for the shower. She let the water cascade over her body and enjoyed the streams trickling down her face. The pulsing water seemed to soothe the pounding inside of her head.
After finishing her shower and drying off, Jenna dressed in a pair of comfortable navy yoga pants and her white Yankees jersey. She headed downstairs to get breakfast started for the Colby and Emma.
Just as she was finishing the French toast, Jenna heard the scampering of little feet running down the stairs. Colby and Emma jumped up onto the stools at the breakfast bar, ready to eat.
"Good morning. Did you two have fun last night?" Jenna asked.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Are we still going to the arcade today?" Colby said.
Jenna wanted to go anywhere but the arcade. She knew that once she got there, her headache would go from bad to worse, with all the bells and whistles, and little kids running and screaming all over…all the wonderful attributes of the arcade! "Of course. I promised that we would go, so we will." Jenna told them.
After breakfast, Jenna called over to let Nicholas know Emma was on her way home. "Just wanted to make sure you were awake. Emma's on her way over, then we're going to head to the arcade." She told him.
"I'm up, send her over." Nicholas told her. He paused for a minute, then said, "Do you still want me to go with you to the arcade?"
"Just try and get out of it. I'm not suffering alone!" Jenna mock threatened him. "Meet us outside in about half an hour, ok?"
"We'll be there." He said and then hung up.
Jenna sent Emma home to get ready, then took Colby upstairs to get him ready. After Colby changed into the clothes that Jenna had laid out for him, she asked him to take Jeter out to go potty before they left. He was doing a good job being responsible when it came to his puppy. He never whined about having to take the dog out or feed him.
After Jenna had cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast and the puppy was put in his crate, Jenna and Colby headed outside to meet Nicholas and Emma. When Jenna walked out their front door, her stomach started doing somersaults, remembering the kiss that they had shared on the dance floor the night before. 'God, I hope that things aren't going to be awkward between us now.' Jenna thought. She could still feel the way his lips felt against hers, the way his tongue had begged for entrance into her mouth, and the way her lips tingled after the kiss was broken.
She looked over and saw Nicholas and Emma waiting for them in his Xterra. He sent a nervous smile over her way as she walked towards the SUV. Jenna returned his smile, just as nervously. Colby on the other hand, ran over to the SUV and jumped in the back, talking excitedly with Emma about how much fun they were going to have. Jenna climbed in the front passenger seat, and as soon as everyone was buckled in, Nicholas put the vehicle in reverse and backed out of his driveway.
The ride to the arcade was quiet between Nicholas and Jenna, but Colby and Emma did enough talking for everyone. The two kids seemed to spend all of their time together, and never ran out of things to talk about or say to each other. For once, Jenna was thankful for their incessant chattering, to make up for the lack of words between her and Nicholas.
After they reached the arcade, Jenna and Nicholas both bought the kids $20 access cards, so they wouldn't have to worry about them losing their money, or coming back to beg for more money. After they got the cards, both kids took off to the game area, leaving Nicholas and Jenna to fend for themselves.
The two parents walked over to the restaurant portion of the arcade and got a couple of Pepsis to drink. They sat down at an empty table and looked out into the sea of kids. Neither one could look at the other, both of them thinking about their kiss. Nicholas was the first to break the tension that was hanging in the air between the two of them.
"So, do we need to talk about what happened last night?" He asked.
"Well, I thought we were going to blame it on the alcohol. It doesn't seem to make it any easier though, does it?" Jenna asked.
"Um, not really. It's not that the kiss wasn't nice, because it was…it really was. It's just that I like our friendship and I don't want to lose that. Say something more happens between the two of us, and then I suddenly realize that even though I thought I was ready to move on after losing Leslie, that I really wasn't ready, then our friendship will suffer. I just can't do that to you, or to us. You are the first person who has made me smile and laugh, besides Emma, since I lost Leslie, and I don't want to lose that. I don't want to do something that will potentially hurt you in the end." Nicholas explained.
"I agree. I don't think I'm ready for anything after what Kyle did to me anyways. I think I am going to have some serious trust issues, and I don't want to make you hate me for
some stupid neurosis that I have because that prick couldn't ever keep it in his pants." Jenna said.
"So, friends then? We can move on after last night?" Nicholas asked, offering his right hand for her to shake.
"Friends." Jenna said as she shook his hand. "So, the kiss was nice?" She teased innocently, with a huge smile spread across her face.
"Yeah, could have used a little work though." Nicholas joked. Jenna punched him lightly on his arm, and he apologized. "Yes Jenna, it was nice, or better than nice, but I thought we were moving on."
"We are, I was just making sure." Jenna laughed.
"So, how are you feeling this morning, by the way." He asked her.
"Ugh, remind me not to drink so much next time. I have had the mother of all headaches this morning, and this arcade isn't helping much!" She groaned. "How about you?"
"I didn't think you looked too happy to be here. Actually, I feel fine, but I had a lot less to drink than you did." He told her.
Jenna and Nicholas sat around talking while the kids played around the arcade. When Nicholas's cell phone rang, he got up from the table and walked outside to answer it. Jenna got bored when he didn't come back right away, so she picked up her phone and called Vanessa.
"Hey girl, haven't talked to you in a while, where've you been hiding?" Vanessa asked her.
"Oh, I've just been busy, you know, work and Colby…How's everything with you?" Jenna asked.
"I've been good. How's that neighbor of yours, and when are you going to set me up with him?" Vanessa asked. She had asked the same thing every time Jenna talked to her since she met him at Colby's birthday party. Jenna had been pretty good about being able to brush her off each time, but lately she was getting persistent.
"Nessa, I don't think he is ready for any of that stuff. He's still trying to get over Leslie."
"Well, it's not like I'm looking for a relationship from him, just a night of wild sex. Everyone needs that now and then." Vanessa told her.
"Not everyone." Jenna laughed. "I think you'd probably give him a heart attack or scare him away or something."
"Well, anytime he wants to take me up on the offer, I'm available for him." She told Jenna.
"I'll let him know, but I have to go now." Jenna said. They said their goodbyes and Jenna hung up her phone and returned it back to her purse.
She wasn't sure why she had never told Nicholas about Vanessa's offers, but she hadn't. If she was being honest with herself, she would have admitted that it was because she didn't think she could stand seeing him with another woman, other than herself. But, she also didn't think she could see him with herself either, so it was a hopeless case. She didn't want to have Vanessa be the first person that Nicholas had sex with since Leslie's death, she wanted to be the first. She wanted to be the woman who made him smile, who made him laugh, and who drove him over the edge on the brink of his orgasm.
Jenna started to blush as she thought about bringing Nicholas to an orgasm. 'I have really got to stop thinking about that. It'll never happen.' She thought to herself.
Meanwhile, outside Nicholas was on his phone talking to his friend Nathan, one of the guys they had gone out with the night before. "No, man. I told you that Jenna and I aren't together. Her and I are just friends. She's free to see whoever she wants." Nicholas should have known that Nathan would try to hook up with Jenna. He wanted to punch the wall behind him, frustrated that Nathan was acting on his attraction to Jenna so fast, and that he was trying to go through Nicholas to get to her.
"Well, if you and her are just friends, you think you could set up a date between her and I? You think she'd go for me?" Nathan asked.
"Dude, I couldn't tell you. Why can't you just ask her yourself and leave me out of it." Nicholas asked, trying to not let his irritation show.
"Because I don't know her that well. Besides, I need you to put in a good word for me, buddy." Nate said. "Well, that is, as long as you meant what you said when you told me you were just friends."
Nicholas sighed. "I'll see what I can do. I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone and walked back inside.
Jenna looked at the scowl on Nicholas's face as he approached the table and got worried. "Is everything ok?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Nathan just frustrates me sometimes. He was calling to ask about you." Nick told her.
"About me? And that put you in a bad mood?" She asked.
"I just hate it when he tries to use my friendship with him to get what he wants." He said, trying to cover up the fact that he was just annoyed that Nate had wanted to go out with Jenna. "So, he wants me to talk you into going out on a date with him, and I know he won't leave me alone until you say yes, so will you go, please?"
"Nathan was the loud one, right?" Jenna asked.
"Yes." Nicholas said, a little reluctantly.
"Well, I'll go, on one condition. You go out with Vanessa and we have a double date. She's been bugging me about hooking her up with you since Cole's birthday." Jenna proposed.
"Ugh, she better not try to get me into bed with her." Nicholas said, wrinkling up his nose as he made a sour look on his face.
"She will, but just be clear that you don't want to sleep with her." Jenna told him. After she realized how it sounded, she added, "I mean, as long as that's what you want…As long as you don't want to sleep with her." Jenna stammered.
"No, I definitely don't." Nicholas told her, chuckling a little at how jealous Jenna had sounded. "So, I guess it's settled. We have a double date."
Jenna wasn't looking forward to going out with Nathan, and she was even less enthusiastic about Nicholas going out with Vanessa, but she was happy to know that Nicholas didn't want to sleep with Vanessa. 'Let's just hope he still feels that way at the end of their date.' Jenna thought to herself. 'And let's also hope I'm not ready to kill Vanessa at the end of the night either.'
"What are we getting ourselves into?" Jenna asked and shook her head.
Chapter 7 The Dates
Friday came all too quick for Nicholas and Jenna. Neither one was really looking forward to their dates, and on more than one occasion, both had tried to think of ways to get out of it. In the end, nothing worked, and the date was going to happen as planned.
Vanessa showed up at Jenna's early, to help Jenna get ready. Jenna would have preferred to get ready alone, especially due to the fact that she resented Vanessa for forcing this date on Nicholas, and wasn't really in the mood to make nice with her. Instead, Jenna bit her tongue and tried to act like nothing was bothering her.
While Jenna worked on her hair and makeup, Vanessa busied herself in Jenna's closet, trying to pick out the 'perfect outfit'. She laid out a short black cargo mini skirt on Jenna's bed, along with a tiny red tank. When Jenna came out of the bathroom to get dressed, she looked at the clothes laid on the bed and got annoyed.
"Where the fuck are we going tonight, street walking?" Jenna cried. "I'm going to have people coming up to me all night asking me how much I charge for my services!"
"Oh stop." Vanessa laughed. "You're going to look great, no one will mistake you for a hooker, just don't wear those over-the-knee vinyl boots that I saw in the back of your closet."
"You're funny Nessa. You know I don't own anything like that!" Jenna grumbled. She sighed and said, "Fine, I'll wear this outfit. Tonight is going to be such a mistake!"
"Not if I have anything to do with it." Vanessa mumbled. "So, where are the kids staying tonight?" She asked louder so that Jenna could hear what she said this time.
"Oh, they're staying at Nicholas's house. They stayed here the last time we went out, so he thought it would only be fair for them to stay at his house this time." Jenna told her. She knew that wasn't the only reason they were staying over at his house. Nicholas had begged to let the kids stay with him so that Vanessa wouldn't get any ideas about trying to go back to his place after they went out. He was trying to do everything he could to let Vanessa know that he didn't want to sleep with her without coming right out and saying
it.
"Oh, is there any chance that I can convince you to let them stay here tonight?" Vanessa asked.
"Nessa! They are staying at his house tonight. It's not negotiable." Jenna said, starting to get angry with her friend. "You need to calm down and understand that Nicholas isn't ready for what you're offering him. Just relax and be happy that he even agreed to go out with you tonight, ok?"
"I guess." Vanessa said, defeated. "I'll go downstairs and let you finish getting dressed. The guys will be here soon." Vanessa left the bedroom, shutting the door behind her so that Jenna could get changed in private.
Jenna groaned and began to get dressed. She was not looking forward to a whole night of Vanessa's flirting, and she hoped that Nathan wouldn't try anything with her. The things she did for her friends! After she was dressed, she took a look in her full-length mirror and was surprised that she didn't look as slutty as she thought she would. 'I bet Nicholas will like me in this outfit! Wait! Did I just say Nicholas? I meant Nathan. The whole N thing is going to throw me off tonight! Yeah, that's it, just because both of their names start with an N.' Jenna thought. The sound of her doorbell brought her out of her thoughts. She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs to greet the guys.
Vanessa opened the door to see a tall, very built blonde guy standing there. He had the most beautiful, crystal blue eyes, definitely Vanessa's usual type of guy…too bad he was Jenna's date for the night. "Hi, I'm Vanessa. Come on in, Jenna will be right down." She said as she reached out and grabbed his arm to lead him inside. He was wearing crisp khakis and a white polo shirt, filling both of them out well.
"Hi, I'm Nathan. Nice to meet you." He said as his eyes swept over Vanessa from head to toe, then back up again. Nathan smiled in appreciation for what he saw. Vanessa was wearing a little brown leather mini skirt with a cream-colored halter top. Her long blonde hair was left down, reaching the middle of her back. She had styled it to lay in big curls, so it was all bouncy when she moved.
As the two stared at each other, they almost missed Jenna walking into the foyer. Thank god for the loud noise her shoes made on the slate floor or else they never would have known she was there. Nathan broke the gaze first and turned to look at Jenna. "Wow, you look great." Nathan said, a little less than enthusiastic.
Mending the Soul Page 4